The next few weeks were a total blur. Billy lost the ability to care about school, and limited his social contact to his family and some online message boards. He spent hours up in his room just staring out his window, watching the city outside. Whenever his parents asked, he said he was swamped with school work. Homework hardly seemed important now. He had trouble thinking of anything that did.
In the end, it all came back to Teddy. For some reason this slightly goofy boy who smelled like pumpkin and read comics was the most important thing in Billy's world. He found himself lingering at the comic shop longer than usual and even poked his head in at the hospital in hopes of finding him again. He even looked into local basketball teams to see if he could locate Teddy. Nothing worked. He spent enough time looking to probably be considered a stalker, but not enough to actually find him.
It was starting to look like this just wasn't meant to be.
He woke up one morning to find his alarm clock reading 11:14. In a dazed panic he frantically tried to get ready for school, never stopping to question why his parents had let him sleep in. As the logic centers of his brain begrudgingly turned on he figured that something might be wrong. He rushed downstairs to find his parents talking to his brothers in the living room.
"What's going on?" asked Billy. "Did school get cancelled?"
Both of his parents sighed. His mom said, "Yes. Something happened in Washington."
Billy slowly sat down on the couch. He could tell from their tone of voice that something was seriously wrong.
Dad said, "Last night the forces of HYDRA launched a siege on the White House and the entire city. President Barnes was evacuated and the government is in disarray."
Oh.
Oh, Fuck.
HYDRA was a terrorist group that had originated from Nazi war criminals that escaped justice, but had no strict ties to any national power. For years they had been gathering strength in America, and their leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker had been threatening to overthrow the White House.
"What does that mean? Who's in charge now?"
Mom shook her said sadly. "We aren't sure. Baron Strucker has declared himself ruler of the city, and there hasn't been contact from anyone else." She turned towards the boys and adopted a more soothing tone. "Now it's possible that this might all blow over. HYDRA isn't as powerful as the whole army, and there's no saying that they will come here."
But they might, right? And then what are we going to do?
Dad put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "But we should take precautions. The schools will remain shut down for the next few days, and everyone should stay indoors as much as possible."
Billy was surprised how little the potential collapse of the federal government ended up affecting his daily life. He didn't have go to school anymore, but he hadn't been doing much there lately anyway. HYDRA shut down the news networks and was monitoring the Internet, which Billy hardly even noticed. He had lost the ability to care about what was going on in the outside world. The biggest affect was that it put things in perspective. The world was a fragile place, and could come shattering down at any moment. He remembered what Wanda had said, and decided he was tired of waiting.
Mom should be able to help, right? I mean, she hasn ' t had to work lately. She probably deals with more complicated stuff all the time.
"Hey, mom? Mind if we talk for a little bit?" Billy's voice was more quiet and nervous than he would have liked. It was only his mother, after all.
My mother, the trained psychiatrist who I haven't come out to yet.
"I was wondering when you were going to come talk to me." Her eyes lit up for the first time since the siege. "You've been very secluded lately, even before…" Her voice trailed off. "Anyway, I didn't want to pressure you until you were ready, but you seem depressed. Is this about Wanda?"
Billy shrugged. "Sort of. Between her and everything else that's been going on I've been thinking. Thinking about what's really important. About who's really important. Because I have the worst luck in the universe, I found someone really important and I don't even know their last name."
Mom smiled. "You know, one of my patients was saying just the same thing. I shouldn't be telling you about this, but he really seems to be in the same boat as you. He's about your age, actually."
"Really? What's his situation?"
"He found someone really special but doesn't know how to find them."
Can ' t be him. That would be too easy.
Trying and failing to be casual, Billy asked, "What's his name?"
Mom pursed her lips. "I really shouldn't-"
"Is it Teddy?" When he saw the look of shock on her face, Billy continued at a frantic pace. "Is he tall, blonde, with pierced ears? Smells like pumpkin pie? Looks like he could beat you up until you see his smile? Kind of a softie, really likes to hug people?"
Mom rose from her chair. "I don't think we should continue this conversation."
Sorry Mom, I ' m not backing down now.
"Why not? You said yourself he wanted to see me too. It would be good for him. We're… really good friends. Even though I don't know his last name or where he lives. What could possibly be wrong with finding him?"
"I'm sorry Billy. Ignoring doctor-patient confidentiality, it might not have a positive effect on Teddy. He's a very complicated boy."
"The times I met him before didn't upset him." Billy fought to keep himself from shouting. He had learned from a young age that raising your voice had no effect on either Dr. Kaplan, but especially not on Mom.
"Teddy's mom is very sick. He's having difficulty trusting people he feels emotionally connected to. I also suspect he might be in denial about his sexuality, although I don't know for sure. He wants people to like him more than anything in the world. He's willing to drastically change who he is to do so."
"He wouldn't have to change for me." Billy felt a tear slide down his eye.
Mom smiled. "Is he really that important to you?"
More than you can imagine.
Billy nodded and choked back a sob. He had no idea that Teddy was dealing with these kinds of issues. That only convinced him he needed to see him more.
Theodore Rufus Altman lived in an apartment in Queens, according to his mom's billing records. Billy clasped the Post-it Note with his address and phone number like it was the Holy Bible. He might have skipped through the streets, if it weren't for the eerie atmosphere of the city. People were more willing to leave their homes than they were a few days ago, but the city was still far less busy than he was used to. He briskly walked along the sidewalk, motivated by anticipation and an uncomfortable feeling he got from the almost silent streets.
When he reached the door, Billy realized he suddenly had no idea how to introduce himself.
What do I say? " Hi, I ' m that one guy you met a couple times. I went outside during the collapse of the United States because I ' m completely in love with you, apparently. I tracked you down because my Mom ' s your therapist. Here ' s hoping you find that romantic instead of profoundly creepy.
He settled for quietly murmuring "Hi" as Teddy opened the door. The boy's face turned from confusion to shock to joy, then back to confusion again. "How did you find me? Should I be worried?"
He shook his head and rustled his hair. Billy was suddenly consumed with a burning desire to rustle Teddy's hair. Teddy said, "Sorry. That probably wasn't the most polite way to start. Do you want to come in?"
Billy's cheeks were burning red, probably not helped by his carefree smile which he imagined made him look a little stupid. He didn't care right now.
"Actually, I was thinking it might be nice if we walked and talked. Want to go through the park?"
There was something surreal about just walking through the park with Teddy Altman, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. As if they hadn't spent any time apart, and the world wouldn't end at any second. Although the park was as abandoned as the rest of the city, Billy didn't even notice. Being next to Teddy was all the company he needed. Teddy was actually taking this pretty well, not seeming to care that Billy had basically stalked him using confidential information.
"So your mom is really Doctor Kaplan? I don't know why I didn't figure that out sooner. I feel kind of stupid now."
"Don't. I'm actually adopted. Happens all the time."
"Learn something new every day. I never would have guessed that. I feel embarrassed, because I talked to her about you a lot."
"If anything, she should feel bad about not recognizing her son. Then again, you probably didn't tell her how I'm always eating before dinner and never brush my teeth."
Billy was afraid he sounded corny, but if he was, Teddy didn't show it. He genuinely seemed to think that Billy was just magically funny, and had giggled out loud several times already.
God, if being corny means I get to keep hearing him laugh, I ' ll have an ethanol blood transplant. And I have the sudden urge to grow pumpkins because of his goddamn shampoo.
Despite the warm weather, Teddy looked like he was freezing.
"Look, is there something specific you wanted to talk about? 'Cause it's kind of creepy out here. The mayor said we shouldn't even go outside if we can avoid it."
"I just wanted to see you again, that's all." Billy almost choked on the words. "I'd like to see you more often, but I didn't know how to find you. I'm tired of having to run into you randomly."
Teddy let out a sigh of relief. Billy wasn't sure why. Teddy said, "I guess that makes sense. We're pretty good friends, after all, even if we have only met two times."
Billy's heart rate doubled. Friends. Right.
He groaned. He had come too far to hold himself back now.
"Yeah, sometimes you don't have to meet someone too many times to realize they'd make a great..." His voice cracked and he almost choked. "...friend. Friends are great. You're great."
Billy exhaled deeply. "We could be more than friends, if you know, you want."
Teddy smiled for a split second. Then he shook his head sadly. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, Billy."
"Why not?" A fiery rage rose in Billy's stomach. He barely managed to suppress it for Teddy's sake. "You're a great guy, and we seem to be really happy together. I- I don't see a problem."
"I'm not..."
"You're not what? Say it, Teddy. It's okay. Just say it. If you feel something, you can't keep it bottled up inside. Trust me. Just be who you are."
Teddy was on the verge of sobbing. "I'm not sure who that is."
Billy lightly ran his fingers along Teddy's cheek. Teddy shot back a sad smile. He laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, Billy. I don't think I know how to deal with this."
Billy couldn't hold himself back anymore. He grasped Teddy's broad shoulders and quickly kissed his cheeks. For a brief moment, Teddy seemed happy. Then he brushed Billy away. With tears in his eyes, he murmured, "Oh God, I'm so sorry" over and over again. He turned away from Billy and started walking away.
Billy followed him and tugged on the sleeve of his jacket. Teddy pushed out the hand he wasn't using to cover his eyes. He shoved Billy with more force than he probably intended to. Billy fell to the ground and Teddy hurried off into the city. Billy just sat there and watched him leave.
He spent almost ten minutes sitting on the ground, riding out the adrenaline rush. He genuinely had no idea what to do. Teddy was so amazing, so perfect, that he couldn't figure out what to do without him, not even to stand up. A familiar voice said, "Hey. Looks like you could use a hand."
A lithe arm descended into the edge of Billy's field of vision. Without looking up he grabbed the arm, and was pulled up off the grass. He turned his head to see who had come to help him.
It was like looking in the mirror. Every facial detail, every body structure, was exactly the same as Billy's. The voice was almost identical too, if a bit louder than Billy normally was. The one exception was the almost white blonde hair.
"Tommy?"
Tommy grinned. "Yep, it's been a while. You'd think you'd have time to visit your twin brother every now and again."
Words jumbled their way out of Billy's mouth without focus or order. "But- it can't be- you're, you're locked up in- Wanda said..."
Tommy chuckled harshly. He pulled a black device, about the size and shape of a TV remote, from his pocket. The end sparked with blue electricity as he pushed into Billy's stomach. It burned, but the pain dulled as Billy fell back and lost consciousness.
To Be Concluded.
